Rebranding Anxiety into Excitement | Teaching During a Pandemic
I have never not had a summer. I’m a teacher, and teachers look forward to the two months between school years to refresh and energize themselves for the next year. While many of us still work second jobs (I worked camps for 15 summers before I had my children, and now I operate my part-time photography business year-round), it’s still a couple of months doing something different, not having to make 14,000 educational decisions a day, and having time to think through some of the changes we want to make for the next school year. But this summer has been different. While I have technically been at home since March, there has been nothing refreshing or energizing about our current situation. E-Learning completely turned our school and home life upside down, and when it ended in June, things didn’t change much. Preparing for the upcoming school year in the midst of a global pandemic has created a tremendous amount of anxiety for every teacher, parent, administrator, and school leader that I know for our entire summer. And now that we know the date(s) we are expected to return, teachers are scrambling to ready their physical classrooms, virtual classrooms, and lesson plans to take on this new challenge.
This week I sat through the first in-person professional development that I have had since March. This phenomenal group of teachers has seen each other online almost weekly through the summer in WebEx meetings, but getting to spend some time in the same room with my teacher friends, even though we were masked and sitting at tables spaced 6 feet apart, was a gift. (It will probably feel that way to our students as well.) Our amazing leader shared with us this piece of wisdom from Simon Senek (watch YouTube link here) that involved the idea of identifying nervousness and anxiety as excitement. Our body’s physiological reactions to both anxiety and excitement are identical: sweaty palms, elevated heart rate, quicker breathing, nervous energy. In order to cope, Olympic athletes have trained themselves to identify these feelings as excitement, not anxiety.
I am full of anxiety. I have a son who starts PreK this Fall. I know that in-person schooling is best for him. He got into our district's Montessori program with one of the best teachers, and I don't want him to miss out on that experience. He is so excited to start school, make new friends, and he is RIPE for learning. But he has a hard time putting on a mask. I'm working with him and know he'll have it figured out by the time he goes to the face-to-face classes he will have. But what will those classes be like? Everyone in masks? His teacher in PPE? No sharing (an ESSENTIAL skill for his age group)? No togetherness? I know without a doubt that his teacher will figure out a way to make it as great as she can, but he is starting school in the middle of a global pandemic. His first school experience will be masked and distanced, and who knows when we might be thrown back into eLearning because of a spike in numbers. His brother is in second grade, I'm a middle school teacher, and their dad works for our school district. We will have three different schools represented in our home and any other schools my husband has to visit. Virtual school is not in any of our best interests, so we're planning on going back in whatever ways our district deems safe, but the burdens of the "what ifs" and potential child care dilemmas are weighty. I get that the world needs to "get back to normal" and that schools being open face-to-face is in the best interest of many families and our economy. But as a middle school teacher and a mom, living this life is hard. I don't want my young children to learn that this is what school is like. I don't want to risk their health or spread something to their grandparents because we will need them to babysit every now and then. And I don't want to catch this thing and leave my children motherless. There are no easy decisions. There are no right answers.
(I wrote that last paragraph a few days ago as I was planning my Instagram posts for the week.)
Ultimately, I know who is in control--God knows exactly how this will all play out, and I am putting my hope in Him! The Bible tells us in Philippians 4: 6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” In 1 Peter 5: 6-7, we are told to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” And in Joshua 1: 9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." And Jesus himself said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
So, with Scripture and wisdom from Simon Senek via our awesome curriculum coordinator, I am going to rebrand my anxiety into excitement. I am not an Olympic athlete (although I did join Beach Body this summer and have never been in better physical shape—physical fitness is another great way of coping with anxiety), but I am going to adopt this as my mantra this year. When I feel those pangs of pressure, I am going to PRAY and tell myself that I am excited…my mindset and faith in God is going to carry me this school year.
So, here’s my rebrand:
I am full of excitement! I have a son who starts PreK this Fall and got into our district's Montessori program with one of the best teachers, and he is so excited to start school, make new friends, and he is RIPE for learning! He thinks masks are cool and is learning how to wear one. I know without a doubt that his teacher will figure out a way to make his class as great as she can. Even though we might be thrown back into eLearning because of a spike in numbers, he will have a good start with his teacher and is a very teachable kid. His brother is in second grade, and he did so well adjusting to his first grade class, I have no doubt that he’ll love second grade and make tons of progress. (He also thinks his Minecraft mask is awesome.) I'm a middle school teacher, and I will be teaching students on a hybrid schedule. I will have small class sizes for the first time ever, and there will be so much I can do with my students! Think of the deep discussions we can have! I can work and conference with them one-on-one or in small groups when I see them every other day. What if my students learn perseverance, grit, and teamwork in a way that they’ve never learned before? What if we get more support from our parents and community than we’ve ever had before? What if wearing masks and shields stops flu season in its tracks?
Writing can be a huge form of therapy and a release in itself. Will you join me in rebranding and rewriting your anxieties into excitements? I know we can ALL use the positivity.
P.S. I know this post has nothing to do with photography, but it is my life at the moment. So if you stuck with me and read the whole thing, thank you!
Since nothing gets me more excited than Disney World, I decided to create my virtual classroom in a Disney theme.